IRCE 2016 Reflections

What a great week in Chicago for IRCE 2016. After a stomach turning flight, through some of the worst turbulence I’ve ever experienced, we finally touched down in the Windy City.

The EY Team was very excited to connect with many new friends, and we especially enjoyed the opportunity to meet up with our clients that were also in attendance!

We started out the week with the Aabaco Roadshow on Tuesday, which provided us with a lot of helpful insight into new features for the Aabaco platforms. The representatives at Aabaco also gave us some insight into the changes that we can expect in the upcoming year.

The booths at IRCE this year were all competing to see who could stand out above the rest. What could they do that would make a stop by their booth irresistible? Shopify’s booth was a big black box, featuring a doorman, that a visitor must check in with before entering. This created a sense of mystery and was a huge topic of conversation all around the exhibition floor. Many exhibitors looked to appeal to the nose and stomach. The aroma of popcorn and bacon filled the air, knowing no passer by could resist the offer for a free snack.

Along with exhibitor buzz, many attendees had the same hot topics on their minds. I frequently had conversations with merchants who were contemplating platform migration. Either they were unhappy with the current platform that they were on, or their business was rapidly growing and they were ready to move to something with more scalability.

We had a great time at IRCE this year, and it was exciting to see how our industry has grown since last year!